| You need a group. If you can’t find one, you need to step up to the plate… |
If you live in or near an urban area, you probably have access to a caregiver support group. If you don’t live where there is an existing group, you may think you’re on your own. But that might not be the whole story. Maybe you should think about organizing a group.
Sure, you say, I can’t organize Sunday dinner and you say I should organize a support group? Yep, I answer, that’s exactly what I say you should do. If you haven’t been in such a group, you really have no idea how much you will benefit from the support of sympathetic and insightful people—people, that is to say, who are in the same situation as you. And anyway, if you’re capable of caring for an elder, you’re capable of organizing a group.
The people at HowtoCare.com have provided simple and straightforward suggestions and instructions on how to go about it. The also offer some good reasons why you should do it. But here’s what it comes down to: caregiving is isolating. When you are a caregiver, isolation is your enemy. A support group is the antidote to isolation.
So click on the link and get started. Before you know it, you’ll have some new and understanding friends and a whole lot more energy and enthusiasm for caregiving.
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There are 4 Responses to “Maybe You Should Start a Caregiver Support Group”
#2 Ed - 18 November, 4:00 PM
There’s also some local non-profit self-help group clearinghouses worldwide that can provide anyone wanting to start a caregiver (or any other type of self-help) support group. There’s a listing at:
http://www.mentalhelp.net/selfhelp/selfhelp.php?id=859
“Caregivers can begin to develop a sense of control over their lives as they begin to understand what to expect during the course of the disease and the changes that will affect the person… A support group can be a lifeline for the caregivers, providing the freedom to express their emotions without guilt and the opportunity to receive positive reinforcement from their peers.”
- p. 82, “Successful Support Groups for African American Caregivers” by E. Williams & P. Barton, Generations, the Journal of the American Society on Aging, 27 (4), Winter 2003/2004, 81-83.
#3 Pete - 18 November, 8:38 PM
Ed,
Thanks for the quote and citation. It’s nice when the professional literature supports the perceptions and experiences of caregivers in the trenches!
#4 Leanta - 21 November, 1:57 AM
I am in the process of starting an online one!!!! I’m so isolated, I need to talk to other caregivers - people who are not caregivers just don’t understand my situation.
It is a new site and hey, it might be helpful to others or it might not at www.carerscafe.com.
#1 SusanCancerSurvivor - 17 November, 5:21 PM
There’s a very good cancer survivor social network I joined a few weeks ago. It’s called, Cancer Match at http://www.cancermatch.com and I though you should know about it.